‘Why we are backing Bridget Phillipson for deputy leader’

Bridget Phillipson is one of the candidates standing to be deputy leader of the Labour Party. LabourList has approached all candidates for their pitch.

Bridget Phillipson has shown in just one year as Education Secretary what Labour in power means. She has expanded free school meals to ensure children don’t go hungry, opened the door to thousands of new school-based nurseries to help tackle child poverty, cut the cost of childcare for working families, launched the biggest drive in a generation to recruit and retain teachers and taken on privilege by putting VAT on private schools to invest in every child’s future. These aren’t slogans – they are Labour values, delivered in government, changing lives today.

That’s why we believe Bridget is the right choice to be Labour’s next Deputy Leader. She embodies the best of our movement: authenticity, hard work, and a deep sense of service. From growing up in a single-parent family in Sunderland to serving as MP for Houghton and Sunderland South – a marginal constituency she has defended and won against the odds – Bridget has always fought and always won.

Aneurin Bevan told us that ‘the language of priorities is the religion of socialism.’ Bridget understands that. She knows that only by winning and holding power can Labour deliver for working people. Her work in education shows what that looks like in practice: bold reforms rooted in our values, delivering from day one of the Labour government.

She also knows Labour only wins when we are a party for the whole country – reaching across every region and every nation of the UK, listening to communities everywhere and bringing them with us.

And let’s be clear – this is no time for complacency. Nigel Farage and Reform want to divide our communities, to pit people against one another, to drag politics into the gutter. Bridget knows how to beat them – because she’s done it. She’s fought and won in the North East, where Reform are trying to gain ground, and she’ll be the Deputy Leader who makes sure Labour takes the fight to them every single day.

The Prime Minister is contending with crises abroad, while working hard to rebuild Britain at home. Angela has shown just how vital the Deputy Leadership is in giving our party the strength to meet challenges on every front – while staying true to the best traditions of our movement.

Bridget brings the same strength. She delivers. She inspires. She wins. She will unite our party to take the fight to Reform. That’s why we’re backing her to be the next Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

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